Three-Minute Thrill

[Verse 1] I start with a spark, a simple design A four-bar hook and a steady line But the ink starts leaking, the margins retreat I’m building a cathedral on a one-way street I told myself "Keep it light, keep it lean" But there’s a gap in the story, a space in between So I stitch in a bridge and I bolster the beat Now the track’s ten minutes and it’s still not complete. [Chorus] Oh, I’m chasing the ghost of a three-minute thrill But I’m climbing a mountain, not a radio hill I want to be brief, I want to be blunt But I’m piling on verses like a vanity stunt Yeah, I’m chasing the short, the sharp, and the sweet But I’m lost in the long-winded, bitter defeat. [Verse 2] The rhythm is rigid, a rusty recital Of robotic rhymes that are losing their title. I crave the concise, the crisp, and the clear, But the vivid velocity's all that I hear. It’s a persistent pursuit of a permanent pause, But I’m breaking my back for these breaking-down laws. I’m sweeping up syllable scraps and remainders, To bolster the bulk of these lyrical strainers. I’ve got hurricane hearts and heavy-link chains, Pumping the ink through my ink-spattered brains. [Verse 3] I could’ve ended it there, at the second hook But I found a new chapter in a dusty book So here’s verse three with a wandering eye Watching the seconds and the minutes fly by Alliteration’s tempting, a terrible trend I’m weaving a web that’ll never quite end I’m a marathon man in a hundred-yard dash Building a bonfire from a tiny white ash. [Bridge] Trim the fat, cut the cord, kill the darlings But I’m hearing the sound of the stanzas like starlings Fluttering, cluttered, and crowding the sky I’m asking the silence a long-winded "Why?" [Verse 4] One more for the road, just a little bit more I’m knocking on windows and kicking the door The slant rhymes are sliding, the vowels are vast I’m making a moment I know shouldn't last I wanted a stanza, I built an estate Now the listener’s gone and the hour is late But the melody’s moving, it’s pulling the thread I’ll add one more verse before I’m in bed. [Outro] Just a little bit longer... Wait, I think there's a chorus left... Keep it short, keep it short... Maybe just one more... [Final Chorus] Oh, I’m chasing the ghost of a three-minute thrill But I’m climbing a mountain, not a radio hill I want to be brief, I want to be blunt But I’m piling on verses like a vanity stunt Yeah, I’m chasing the short, the sharp, and the sweet But I’m lost in the long-winded, bitter defeat. [Outro 2] Oh well, guess there's nothing I can do My music is always a narrative taboo 4 to 5 minutes is such a good length I'll find a way to make it my strength.